Grade 12 results released as kids head back to school

Grade 12 results released as kids head back to school

Ms Ellaine de Klerk of Pionierspark Primary School yesterday welcomed young learners to their first day of 'big school'. Image Yolanda Nel

Along with thousands of kids heading back to school, the provisional results for the 2017 Grade 12 National Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) Ordinary Level examination were released today.

In a media statement issued by Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) Public Relations Officer, Absalom Absalom, he said a total of 72 619 Grade 12 candidates sat for the external examinations in October/November 2017.

This comprises of 16 314 learners for the higher level and 56 305 for the ordinary level.

Absalom said that the results are available through a text message service and on the ministry’s website as well as in the local media.

Candidates can also visit the regional offices of the ministry during office hours to obtain their results.

In other news, the education ministry said it will apply prudent fiscal measures and conduct a needs analysis if operating with meagre financial resources is anything to go by in 2018.

The MoEAC’s budget was cut from N$12.32 billion in 2016/17 financial year to N$11.97 billion for 2017/18 – about N$350 million less than the previous year.

The ministry is concerned that about 85% of its entire budget goes to the remuneration of staff while a paltry 15% is left to cater for the ministry’s operational cost.

Speaking to Nampa recently, MoEAC Permanent Secretary Sanet Steenkamp, said the ministry is faced with an avalanche of challenges which include a high wage bill; over staffing; late disbursement of funds and a meagre budget allocation.

To address the huge wage bill, Steenkamp said the ministry will liaise with the Office of the Prime Minister prior to the filling of vacancies.

“Once we want to employ or advertise, we need to seek audience with the Office of the Prime Minister. Secondly, we had to employ compensatory reduction strategies. That means if I have 17 positions and they are all vacant, I have to check which of the 17 [the ministry] really needs [as a top priority] and fill maybe six of them,” Steenkamp said.

This was manifested by the delay of the teacher vacancy list last year which allowed the ministry to do an in-depth analysis of overstaffed schools versus understaffed school, Steenkamp added.

“This process allowed us to see if we cannot transfer teachers within their field of specialisation from an overstaffed school to an understaffed school. Those are the things that we have done to curb the wage bill,” Steenkamp added.

This, however, has made the ministry unpopular in the public eye according to Steenkamp.

“We have become very unpopular because posts that were vacant were not filled because we had to choose which post do we see as most critical and which is not,” she expounded.

Steenkamp further stressed that prioritisation of the ministry’s needs will be key in 2018. – Nampa

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